Talks by Our Gurus

Karmic Chain

Karmic Chain

Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami
, 1998-10-25

Gurudeva tells how he goes into his mind into past lives, to determine the appropriate penance for confessions that he receives so that he may help the individual to mitigate past deeds and situations. Gurudeva tells about the "karmic chain" relating to drug use and gives examples of how acts create other acts and that there are very great karmic consequences. Drug Free Kauai teaches children to be leaders and to say no to drugs. Those who take drugs are not leaders, they are followers.

Unedited Transcript:

Today at Kauai Aadheenam. October 25. We are coming to the end of our week, our phase. It is what we call, according to our Vedic calendar, Sun 5. Acharya Kumaraswami gives a talk to the congregation of Saiva Siddhanta Church who come to listen to his wisdom. We don't know what he is going to talk about and probably he doesn't either, because it is an inspired talk and we always try to speak to the needs of the people, once we feel their vibration.

Congratulations to the mothers and fathers, of our Saiva Siddhanta Church families, who have for many years, taught their children at home. Home schooling is on the front page of 'Newsweek', this week. They find it as a very effective education. It is very precise, concise and good results are obtained. We have many children in Saiva Siddhanta Church that have been home schooled for many, many years. They are bright and competent. They do not lack for companionship, because companionship comes from going to the temple with others of their own age, some of the retreats here at Kauai Aadheenam, on the beautiful Garden Island of Kauai and many other activities. 'Newsweek' mentions that there are a million children in America, who are being taught at home. We would recommend this for other countries, too. One of our young men in Singapore, who is 11 going on 12, is being home schooled now. He is being prepared to become a trainee to be a Swami in our Order. Now, we don't want him to mix with the riff-raff of the country, so to speak.

Well, today I did more correspondence. The way we do our correspondence is this. All the emails that come are read to me by a mechanical voice. Then, I dictate to Sannyasin Shanmuganathaswami how to reply for me. He reads to me all the paper mail that comes in from all of you and we do the very best we can to keep up and keep current. Sometimes, it is very difficult.

Also, this time of the year, I am working on receiving - here is a Sanskrit word, stay with me - 'aparadha svikara'. That means confessions. What do you do when you get a confession? You take it into yourself and understand it. We, mystical people, try to locate one of our past lives, when we went through the same experience. We know we can't hear anything that anyone else has ever done, but what we have done ourselves. Therefore, to find a way out for them, all we have to do is go into our mind, even into past lives to find out how we wiggled out of the situation. Wiggling out of the situation is called 'prayaschitta' or penance. Every action, every 'aparadha svikara', or confession, is a series of karmas that have been made, usually from this life. That conglomerate of psychic energy piles up and makes a mark within the subconscious mind. That mark can be seen in the inner aura. We want to mitigate that. We want to fuzz it up a little. We don't want it to come back at a future time, full force. So, we do a penance.

For this to actually work properly, the individual has to feel remorseful. Usually people in the lower nature, half-way down there in the darker worlds, don't feel remorseful or guilty about anything. They feel it is their right to do whatever they want, have perfect freedom to hurt others and to retaliate upon others, if they are hurt by others. But, as they come into the spiritual life, the first thing that awakens is conscience. They begin to be conscience-struck. This is the superconscious of their own mind, shining light upon the situation that they have created. They feel that they don't want to repeat the situation because it did not work out very well.

Oh, this is a dirty job, listening to the confessions that come in on email, that come in on the telephone, that come in through the mail at this particular time of the year. So we take it into ourselves and out through the top of the head, until it dissolves. Then, if there is anything left, the individual has to do some kind of a penance.

Yesterday, we were talking about bad money, good money, drugs, selling drugs and all those naughty, naughty things that people are doing. Would you like to hear about the karmic chain?

Now, many people say, "Drugs are okay. It is the laws against the drugs and the taking of drugs, that are not right." Well, the laws are very severe. If you fly into Malaysia, on the airplane, they will announce that the penalty is death, if you are carrying drugs, or if you take drugs. The penalty is death. Many have experienced going through that tunnel of light and or that tunnel of darkness in Malaysia. That is a very severe penalty. But, they made up their mind that they are not going to put up with drugs, drug selling or drug taking, and all of that.

The karmic chain is this. Suppose someone sold drugs to another and that person overdosed and killed himself. The karma would be murder. Maybe the law would not be murder, but the karma would be murder.This means that the person who sold the drugs, would be killed in their next life. It is as simple as that, a mathematical equation. One act creates another act, and that act comes back on the one that helped create the other act. Similarly, if movie actors and actresses cause others to hurt themselves or kill another person or rob or anything like that because of what they are acting out, that karma comes back on them, as well as the director and the writer. Really messy business, to fool around with the law of karma. That is the karmic chain. So, be careful what you do.

There is an easy way to control drugs. Simple say, "No." Here, on the island of Kauai, we have an organization called 'Drug Free Kauai'. This organization works with children in the schools, to teach them to say one word - No. To teach them to be leaders. Most people who take drugs are followers. They are not leaders, they are followers. A leader takes a stand. A leader stands for what he believes and believes what he stands for. We are training these children on our beautiful Garden Island to be leaders and to stand up against that which they know is wrong. Some people are trying to be strong, believing in the 'Drug Free Kauai' program. Therefore, those who come in on this community, with their fast-talking sales talk and convert some of these people are making very, very bad karma for themselves. Basically, twice as much bad karma as talking to somebody, who was not under this very productive, very useful and very potent program. To tear down the morality of a person has very great karmic consequences.

Most of the Abrahamic religions don't believe in karma, but some of their followers do. Now, for those who do not believe in the law of karma, this does not make any sense whatsoever. This is just 'Hindu talk'. But, look at it like this. What goes around, comes around. What you sow, you finally will, probably, reap and eat. Therefore, if you have got to eat it when it comes back, make sure it tastes good.